Tuesday, May 6, 2025
When it comes to building muscular strength, endurance, and gaining muscle mass, the way you structure your workouts matter. Scrolling through social media or talking with regular gym goers, everyone will swear by their own method. Some prefer to split their muscle groups between days and others prefer to do multiple full-body workouts throughout the week. But what does research say? Are split workouts the key to gains, or is training your full body multiple times per week more effective?
Split-training workouts separate muscle groups into multiple sessions, for example, working chest and triceps one day, back and biceps on another, and legs on the last day. This is popular for individuals who are body builders or for those focusing on their physique. These routines allow for increased volume per muscle group and more focused exercise sessions, which can support muscle hypertrophy over time.
Full-body workouts train all major muscle groups in one session and there are multiple sessions spread out two to four days per week. Research has shown that hitting each muscle group about twice per week can lead to greater muscle growth than hitting that muscle group once a week. This makes full-body workouts effective for general fitness, and it is more time efficient.
Split workouts allow for more recovery time between sessions, but full-body workouts can be more manageable for beginners or for those who have limited time. Further, full-body workouts have been shown to provide similar results for strength and hypertrophy in many populations. Ultimately, the best training style depends on your goals and how consistent you are. You need to choose the method that fits your lifestyle and keeps you making progress.
- Zoe Meyers, MS ACSM-EP
Resources
Gentil, P., Fisher, J., Steele, J., Campos, M. H., Silva, M. H., Paoli, A., Giessing, J., & Bottaro, M. (2018). Effects of equal-volume resistance training with different training frequencies in muscle size and strength in trained men. PeerJ, 6, e5020. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5020
Schoenfeld, B. J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2016). Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 46(11), 1689–1697. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8
Schoenfeld, B. J. (2010). The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(10), 2857–2872. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181e840f3
Schoenfeld, B. J., Ratamess, N. A., Peterson, M. D., Contreras, B., Sonmez, G. T., & Alvar, B. A. (2014). Effects of different Volume-Equated Resistance Training loading Strategies on muscular adaptations in Well-Trained Men. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 28(10), 2909–2918. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000000480